First let me say, you pretty much *have* to body clip your minis in South Florida. Just last week, it was 90 degrees and VERY humid. My mini, Boo, has a RIDICULOUSLY thick coat (you can see it in the thread below about minis with curly coats.) I clipped him in the beginning of winter, but it grew back, so I clipped him again this past Monday.

My husband made a joke, he said, "Uh oh, if my wife is clipping her horses, that means we will be getting a cold front soon!"

Well, last night it was about 45 degrees. Not only cold, but also damp and rainy. I know some of you in colder climates chuckle...but that is darn cold for us! Especially for a mini that is on the skinny side right now (he had diarrhea recently, I had the vet out, he is fine now, no more squirts) and was just freshly clipped! So yesterday afternoon, I checked on him (before the cold night) and he was shivering! He looks like one of those hairless chihuahuas. Actually, more like Jiggy the dog from the Real Housewives of Beverley Hills. If you watch that show, you will know what I mean and you will laugh. I clipped him all over except his face and his legs.

Anyway, he was shivering so of course I put the blanket on him. Then I noticed, he seemed awfully disoriented. I actually took his fly mask off because it almost seemed like he couldn't see out of it. When I fed him, he kind of circled his food like he couldn't find it...it was weird. He is fine today, and I did not really think much of it.

Well, just now, my good friend called me in tears, her mini is also freshly clipped and she did NOT blanket her last night and she described the exact same symptoms. Her mini is disoriented. She was worried she has brain damage. I told her about Boo's behavior last night and told her he is fine today so hopefully her mini will be ok, too...although my Boo had a blanket on at night, and hers did not.

Anyway, does that sound like hypothermia? Do you think her mini will be ok? Any other input or info you would like to share?

You need to be worried if they STOP shivering, because that's the most dangerous.

Wikipedia has a good description of hypothermia and its symptoms. Sorry, on my phone or I'd copy and paste it over for you.

I would find another blanket to add to the one that you have, or a thicker/heavier weight blanket. Give them more hay to eat today to, and make sure that they have barely warm water to drink if you can. A warm mash would also do them both some good.Posted via Mobile Device

You need more blankets. I also live in florida and my QH mare gets as fuzzy as a mini so I keep her clipped. At 60 she has a sheet, 50 blanket, 45 blanket and sheet, 40 2 blankets, 30 2 blankets and a hood. If its going to rain she goes in a stall.

Velvets-I read the Wiki article, thanks for pointing it out. I did not ask her about her mini shivering. I called her and she said she is much better. My mini is completely fine now.

Spastic Dove (wow, I love that name!) Yes, both eating now. I am going to her barn in a bit, going to see what her mini looks like with my own eyes. See if I notice a difference in her behavior.

My horses-hmmm...I have had two vets (first one moved away) and one told me blanket when it is under 55, the other said 45. This was for a clipped horse. Now, when the clip is "fresh" I could see needing more blankets, but that's only for about 2 weeks, I would think. There are many horses here in SoFla (including our one boarder) that have very short hair even in winter and never wear a blanket ever. I mentioned on another forum that I felt bad for the boarded horse here at my barn because the owners don't even own a blanket, and many people told me I was ridiculous!

I got the waterproof blankets for my minis...not water *resistant* but water *proof.* I wouldn't want to test them in the driving rain, but we rarely get that in the winter, usually just drizzly.

I don't think I have EVER EVER seens a hood on a horse in SoFla!

I do appreciate all the tips and advice! I've been outside giving him extra attention all afternoon.

Velvets-I read the Wiki article, thanks for pointing it out. I did not ask her about her mini shivering. I called her and she said she is much better. My mini is completely fine now.

Spastic Dove (wow, I love that name!) Yes, both eating now. I am going to her barn in a bit, going to see what her mini looks like with my own eyes. See if I notice a difference in her behavior.

My horses-hmmm...I have had two vets (first one moved away) and one told me blanket when it is under 55, the other said 45. This was for a clipped horse. Now, when the clip is "fresh" I could see needing more blankets, but that's only for about 2 weeks, I would think. There are many horses here in SoFla (including our one boarder) that have very short hair even in winter and never wear a blanket ever. I mentioned on another forum that I felt bad for the boarded horse here at my barn because the owners don't even own a blanket, and many people told me I was ridiculous!

I got the waterproof blankets for my minis...not water *resistant* but water *proof.* I wouldn't want to test them in the driving rain, but we rarely get that in the winter, usually just drizzly.

I don't think I have EVER EVER seens a hood on a horse in SoFla!

I do appreciate all the tips and advice! I've been outside giving him extra attention all afternoon.

I live about an hour away from Tampa, and our show horses wear sheets if it's 60 or less. We put hoods and slinks on them if it's under 50 so they don't get too hairy. Mine has a heavy weight, medium weight, a sheet and a neck warmer because hoods don't fit (he's a large horse.. 17.3) and I pile all that on him if it's under 40. He's kept inside, but it gets cold in the barns. Definitely get more blankets!Posted via Mobile Device

I guess it is all what the horse gets used to. The boarder here...she is a 2 year old filly. She has never had a blanket on her ever (and again, her hair is VERY short) and as much as I want to buy a blanket myself to use on her...if the owners take her away and never put a blanket on her again, well, I will feel that I have spoiled her and she will miss having a blanket.

I really and truly think the issue here is the fresh body clipping. In two weeks from now, I cannot fathom putting 2 blankets on my minis. I swear I have never ever seen a hood on any horse here in SoFla.

I do agree that concrete barns get cold. My barn is wood, and they are never locked in, always have access to a paddock.

So horses in CN, where VelvetsAB lives....even if they grow winter coats...are you saying they should have a blanket when it is below 0? And what about wild horses?

I feel like I am middle of the road on this topic. Both my minis have blankets...which is way more than a lot of horses have...but that's it...after that I think it is overkill here in SoFla.

Oh my goodness.
I am so glad to hear that Boo is back to his warm little self!
Sounds like the combination of body clipping and the quick drop in barometer really got to him.
(Ha, ha, ha, Jiggy, cute little booger!.....Are you going to remedy that?)

Is your neighbor's mini doing okay now?
Is Bruno okay, or did he not get clipped?

Oh my goodness.I am so glad to hear that Boo is back to his warm little self!Sounds like the combination of body clipping and the quick drop in barometer really got to him.(Ha, ha, ha, Jiggy, cute little booger!.....Are you going to remedy that?)

Is your neighbor's mini doing okay now?Is Bruno okay, or did he not get clipped?

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.